THE TRAPPING MONTH VOLUME 14 NUMBER 16 DECEMBER 12, 1985
Interior Department, senator thumb noses at FIIP report; BuRec to move in
So what if a sovereign nation's wishes are ignored, even though that nation owns most of the resource in question.
So what if thousands of tax dollars were spent paying for an 1,800-page report
So what if a dozen out-of-state federal employees spent the better part of a year in Montana studying a can of
ab
sc ei
old worms otherwise known as an irrigation project
Thafs the message albeit over-dramatized perhaps, received on the Reservation late last month when the federal government pooh-poohed the work of its own experts by agreeing to the transfer of a portion of the Flathead Indian Irrigation Project to the Bureau of Reclamation
The move is in direct opposition to the Flathead Tribes' wishes, and goes against the recommendations of a federal, multi-agency study team detailed to the Reservation a year ago to examine all facets of FIIP.
In a memo dated November 29, Interior Department Secretary Donald Hodel outlined his intention to ignore the Tribes and the report he had initiated by "directing the Bureau of Reclamation to manage the water release and associated delivery system of this project to meet the needs of irrigation users and other beneficiaries".
Montana's Senator John Melcher played a starring role in the transfer. Word has it that he had been stalling confirmation by Congress of half-a-
dozen appointees to federal office until the Interior Department fell in with his intention to transfer at least the irrigation part of FIIP to BuRec He's reported as saying the FIIP report had been a waste of time and money.
One of the held-up appointments was that of former Cherokee Nation chairman Ross Swimmer, who's been named to replace Ken Smith as assistant secretary of the Interior Department for Indian Affairs.
News of the impending transfer was reported to have brought smiles of relief to members of the Joint Board of Control, a committee that represents the interests of non-Indian irrigators who requested such a transfer years ago.
At Tribal headquarters in Pablo, the news was met with stony faces. The Council met December 3 to discuss the transfer, but had no comment to make afterwards about how or if the Tribes will officially react to the move
Individually, however, some Tribal officials expressed frustration and disgust at the maneuverings in D.C.
Chairman Joe Felsman said Melcher (Concludes on page two)
Public meeting: Proposed Hellroaring sale
A public meeting to explain the proposed 83 million-board-feet Hellroaring timber sale has been scheduled for 7 p.m., Wednesday, December 18, at the Flathead Lake Senior Center in Poison. (Please see the story on page five.)